The Election: It's a Black & White Cookie

The black and white cookie just went national. At a bakery in Grand Central Terminal full of commuters rushing home before the vice presidential debate, many slowed at a cookie display advertising, "Today's Special Obama and McCain Black & White Cookies."

"A black and white cookie is a soft, sponge cake-like shortbread which is iced on one half with vanilla fondant, and on the other half by dark chocolate fondant," is how Wikipedia defines the black and white cookie, adding that the dessert is a particularly "New York Snack."

The cookie's New Yorky-ness was established by its cameo on a Seinfeld episode, "The Dinner Party," in which Jerry sums up his philosophy of race relations: "Look to the cookie." At the end, Jerry ends up with indigestion (his last words, "I've got David Duke and Farrakhan going at it down there.")

So, now that the cookie has entered the debate, what wisdom might it hold in the coming weeks before the election? Based on the cookie's New York stronghold and the fact that its name is used interchangeably with the Half-Moon, a cookie quite common in Upstate New York and New England, there is the fear that it may be seen by some as elitist. The latter come with a chocolate base, rather than a vanilla/lemon base, which is the standard downstate and in New York City. It is yet to be seen if the cookie will become as controversial as the debate between the French fry and Freedom fry during the Bush administration.

According to a recent Chicago Tribune article, the food most frequently found on John McCain's campaign bus: donuts. Shrimp and pizza topped with pepperoni and onions are the maverick's favorite foods. According to an unconfirmed report, Obama has a diverse digestive record, his favorite foods include: Italian dining at Italian Fiesta Pizzeria in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood and jelly beans, ala Ronald Reagan, the confectionery that comes in hundreds of different primarily fruit flavors, which some critics may see as synonymous with flipfloping. On the go, both candidates agree on pizza.

As many Americans have observed, the Obama/Biden ticket is a black and white cookie.
But with the cookie, you can have your black and white cake and eat it too. While Sarah Palin makes an appearance on the prime time black and white shortbread platform, after her performance during last night's debate, she may be better suited for Little Debbie Snacks -- "Unwrap a Smile."

While the cookies, which sold for $3.95, tasted the same, consumers were clear about which candidate they were willing to digest.

Comments

[Phaedrus21]

Are those paper photos on top or some sort of "printed frosting"?

[justduckygal]

If George Bush had a cookie, it would have pretzel pieces in it.

[Nommo]

There are pizzerias in Chicago?

[PATina]

Man... I want one of those cookies.